After 20 years of digitization efforts, hardly a single type
of library information resource remains that has not shifted,
at least to some extent, to an electronic, Web-based
format: information about the library itself, catalogs, in-
dexes, dictionaries and encyclopedias, books and jour-
nals, tutorials, reserve materials and reference services.
The online migration of these resources has opened
unprecedented opportunities to people with “print dis-
abilities”, who cannot independently access printed works
because of lack of sight, dyslexia or insufficient motor
control (Coombs, 2000), but who are able to access elec-
tronic text with the help of assistive input and output
technology, such as modified computer keyboards and
screen readers with speech or Braille output (Mates, 2000;
Lazzaro, 2001).
The extent to which these new opportunities become
realized depends on the design of the Web environment.
From the perspective of accessibility, design in the online
world matters as much as it does in the physical world.
This article seeks to determine the extent to which the
library profession addresses the need of people with
disabilities for accessibly designed online resources—by
reviewing the professional library literature for coverage
of this issue, by summarizing empirical accessibility stud-
ies, and by analyzing pertinent policies adapted by librar-
ies and their professional organizations.
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